- Johnny Shepherd
NFL player
DateOfBirth=birth date and age|1957|04|27
Birthplace=flagicon|USALa Grange, NC
Position=Running back
College=Liberty University
Livingston University (now The University of West Alabama)
DraftedYear=
DraftedRound=
PFR=
Awards=1983 Most Outstanding Rookie
Records
years=1983-85
1987
1988
teams=Hamilton Tiger-Cats (CFL)Buffalo Bills (NFL)New York Knights (AFL)
NFL=SHE512459
ProBowls=
HOF=Johnny Shepherd (born
April 24 ,1957 atLa Grange, North Carolina ) was a starcollege football running back and the Rookie of the Year in theCanadian Football League .College career
Shepherd started his college career at
Liberty University , where he was the team leading rusher in 1978 with 529 yards. He moved to Livingston University (now The University of West Alabama), where he was named Honorable MentionAll-American in 1982, All-Gulf South Conference in 1981 and 1982 and is a member of UWA's Team of the Decade from the 1980s. He still sits atop the UWA career rushing chart with 2,057 yards on 387 carries and holds the career per-rush average (5.32). He also scored 26 rushing touchdowns in his career and scored 156 points. He owns the single-season record for rushing touchdowns with 13, rushing yards with 955, touchdowns scored with 15 and rushing attempts with 183. He also owns the single-game rushing record of 189 yards versus Tennessee-Martin in 1982. He was inducted into the UWA Hall of Fame in 1997.Professional career
Undrafted by theNational Football League , Shepherd headed to theCanadian Football League in 1983, where he played with theHamilton Tiger-Cats . Rushing for 1069 yards in his first season, he was anall-star and winner of theCFL's Most Outstanding Rookie Award . He played for two more seasons, but was hampered by injuries. Most notably, he scored a touchdown in 1985's73rd Grey Cup , when Hamilton lost to theB.C. Lions .In 1987 he played 2 games for the
Buffalo Bills , as a strike replacement player, rushing 12 times for 42 yards and catching one pass. He finished his career in theArena Football League , with theNew York Knights in 1988, rushing 24 times for 85 yards, catching one pass, scoring 5 touchdowns, and making 29 tackles.Personal life
Shepherd now lives in
Garner, North Carolina with his wife and two daughters Kanita and JareyaReferences
*"Canadian Pro Football" by Terry Jones (Paperjacks, Markham Ontario)
* [http://athletics.uwa.edu/Football/FB_All-Americans.asp UWA All-Americans list]
* [http://arenafan.com Arena Fans online]
* [http://www.databasefootball.com/players/playerpage.htm?ilkid=SHEPHJOH01 Johnny Shepherd at databaseFootball.com]External links
* [http://www.ticats.ca/index.php?module=page&id=4016 Hamilton Tiger Cats All-Time Roster]
* [http://www.arenafan.com/players/?page=players&player=1453 AFL stats]
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